Insider Selling: Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE) Chairman Sells 20,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

  • Universal Insurance Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares on May 15 at an average price of $38.73, totaling about $774,600. After the sale, he still held 1,168,255 shares.
  • UVE shares were slightly lower in the session, opening at $38.67 and falling 0.9%, while the stock remains near its 52-week high of $41.96.
  • The company recently beat earnings expectations with quarterly EPS of $2.00 versus the $1.39 consensus, and it also paid a $0.16 quarterly dividend, implying a 1.7% yield.

Universal Insurance Holdings Inc (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) Chairman Sean Downes sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.73, for a total transaction of $774,600.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,168,255 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,246,516.15. This represents a 1.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Universal Insurance Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE UVE opened at $38.67 on Friday. Universal Insurance Holdings Inc has a 12-month low of $21.96 and a 12-month high of $41.96. The stock has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a 50-day moving average of $35.75 and a 200 day moving average of $33.48.

Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $398.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $481.09 million. Universal Insurance had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 37.51%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Universal Insurance Holdings Inc will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Insurance Dividend Announcement




The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Universal Insurance's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.48%.

Institutional Trading of Universal Insurance

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Universal Insurance by 212.3% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 596,370 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $15,685,000 after purchasing an additional 405,403 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Universal Insurance by 106.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 280,957 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,389,000 after acquiring an additional 144,553 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Universal Insurance by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 815,484 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $27,566,000 after acquiring an additional 134,805 shares in the last quarter. Informed Momentum Co LLC purchased a new position in Universal Insurance during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,481,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Universal Insurance by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,953,721 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $51,383,000 after acquiring an additional 108,660 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on UVE shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Universal Insurance in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Universal Insurance from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on UVE

About Universal Insurance

(Get Free Report)

Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc (NYSE: UVE) is a property and casualty insurance holding company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. The company underwrites homeowners and other residential property insurance products to protect against natural catastrophes such as hurricanes, windstorms and fires. It distributes policies primarily through a network of independent agents and brokers, offering coverage for primary residences, secondary homes, condominiums, vacant dwellings and rental properties across its service territory.

In addition to personal lines, Universal provides commercial property and casualty insurance tailored to small businesses and institutional clients.

See Also

Insider Buying and Selling by Quarter for Universal Insurance (NYSE:UVE)

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